Williams joins calls for fairer share of F1 pot

LONDON (Reuters) - Williams said it will seek a more even distribution of revenues under Formula One's next commercial agreement, joining calls by other teams ahead of negotiations to replace deals that expire in 2020.

"We have to bide our time," deputy team principal Claire Williams told reporters on Monday after the former world champions published 2015 results showing significant improvement in revenues.

"I imagine we will all start negotiating new terms ... well ahead of 2020 and I hope that a revision and a re-distribution is something that's tabled as part of those discussions."

Formula One teams have individual deals with the commercial rights holder CVC, represented by Bernie Ecclestone, which replaced the confidential 'Concorde Agreement' that previously governed the way the sport is run and revenues shared out.

Struggling smaller F1 teams like Sauber and Force India have long argued that the distribution is skewed in favor of leading manufacturers, who receive special payments regardless of how they perform on the track.

Figures obtained by autosport.com showed that Ferrari, the only team to have been in the championship since 1950 and the most successful, are in line for a $70 million special payment in 2016.

That, combined with revenues dictated by performance and a championship bonus, means Ferrari will be paid a total of $192 million.

That is $20 million more than champions Mercedes and compares to $87 million coming to Williams for finishing third in the past two seasons -- beating Ferrari in 2014 and Red Bull last year.
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